Apple’s iOS 18 AI Plans Revealed in New Report: 9 Features to Anticipate

AI Everywhere All at Once

The tech community has been buzzing for months with speculation that iOS 18 will mark one of the most significant upgrades in Apple’s history. A recent report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a reporter known for his accurate foresight into Apple’s moves, provides fresh insights into what we can expect from the upcoming software release.

Gurman’s Latest AI Insights

In his Power On newsletter, Gurman shares potential AI-driven enhancements for iOS 18—and possibly macOS 15. Here’s a glimpse into the future, based on his revelations:

Voice Memo Transcribing: AI could soon convert your voice memos to text, potentially integrated directly into the iOS Voice Memos app.
Photo Retouching: Borrowing a page from Samsung’s playbook, iOS may offer AI-powered photo editing tools, such as object removal and color optimization.
Enhanced Searching: Gurman hints at AI-enhanced search capabilities across iOS and macOS, promising speed and reliability, with support for natural language queries.
AI-Generated Replies: Apple Mail and Messages might soon suggest AI-crafted responses, streamlining your communication while still allowing personal touch.
Safari’s Leap Forward: Expect a major Safari update with AI-assisted web searches, delivering more pertinent results and concise site summaries.
Siri’s Human Touch: Siri is set to become more conversational, with responses that mimic natural human interaction, thanks to Apple’s advanced language models.
Instant Custom Emojis: An intriguing new AI feature could generate custom emojis on-the-fly, keyed to your current conversation.
Smart Summaries: iOS 18 may introduce smart summaries across emails, webpages, messages, and possibly notifications, saving you precious time.
Home Screen Customization: While not strictly AI-related, Gurman suggests iOS 18 will allow more flexible home screen layouts and thematic color changes.

Beyond the AI Horizon

Gurman’s report also touches on Apple’s rumored collaboration with OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT and Dall-E. Apple’s AI models, both local and cloud-based, are expected to manage the core AI tasks. However, for a full-fledged AI chatbot experience, Apple may integrate ChatGPT directly into the iPhone ecosystem, with an announcement anticipated at WWDC 2024 on June 10.

Apple aims to maintain its privacy edge over competitors like Google and Meta, emphasizing the security of its AI tools. And while some features may debut with a ‘preview’ tag, signaling ongoing development, the integration of AI into iOS 18 promises to be a game-changer for Apple users.